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Cornell is the place to go if you like looking at small things with expensive machinery. The University recently made its $500,000 micro-CT scanner available for public as well as academic usage.

For $40 to $75 a pop, you can use the instrument to look inside stuff like a mouse heart, a fat deposit or even a Habanero Chile. The system uses a computer and low-dose X-rays to generate color 3D images. Though the specimen does get irradiated, it's not damaged or killed during the process.

And the detail is stunning. You get a moving 3D view of internal structures as small as a human hair. Check out the videos at Cornell's website and be wowed by the technology. [PhysOrg]